During the Winter Olympics, men and women compete in a strange sport that involves pushing a stone on ice towards a painted target, while teammates use a broom to sweep the path. The sport is called curling, and it has quite a history that originates in Scotland.
Ancient Times
Throughout Europe, over the years, artifacts have been found of what are believed to be stones used in a primitive and similar game to curling. It is believed these prehistoric people would erect targets on the ice and may have even used makeshift brooms to clear the snow from the path of sliding stones. In 1565, Peter Breugel of Holland, painted "Hunters in the Snow," which included scenes depicting men playing a game that resembles modern day curling. This supports the idea that the sport may have been invented somewhere in Europe sometime in the 1500s or earlier. But it is the Scots who claim to have developed the modern version.
Scotland
In the 1600s, the sport of curling was considered to be as popular as gold and archery in the country of Scotland. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the sport grew and was eventually being played by thousands of men and women in practically every Scottish parish. In the mid-1800s, Scotland developed a formalized version of the sport with rules and equipment for all players. The Royal Caledonian Curling Club, or RCCC, was established and today is still the national governing body for the sport in Scotland, with more than 20,000 active members. Today, because of climate change and ponds that rarely freeze over, the sport has been moved to indoor refrigerated ice venues for players in Scotland, and in North America.
North America
According to documents found at the Montreal Curling Club in 1807, the sport of curling reached the country of Canada sometime in the 1700s, most likely being spread through Scottish soldiers and immigrants. Curling dates back to 1830 in the United States in Michigan and quickly spread to other northern states like Wisconsin and North Dakota. With many bodies of water that easily freeze in the winter, the sport became quite popular outdoors and eventually indoors as well. Today, the sport of curling can be found in at least 20 states, mostly northern, with as many as 15,000 members of well over 100 organized groups throughout the United States.
Winter Olympics
As the sport of curling grew around the world, it eventually became a part of the Winter Olympics. In 1924, the first Olympic curling match took place in Chamonix, France and featured teams from England, France and Sweden. While this was the first time the sport was considered for medals in the Olympics, England winning the Gold, curling was not a medal sport again until 1998 in Nagano, Japan. During the time in between, curling was a demonstration sport at Winter Olympics 1932 at Lake Placid, New York and then again in 1988 in Calgary, Canada, where it was also the first time a women's competition was seen in the Olympics. In 1992, curling was again a demonstration sport in Albertville, France where several countries competed in both men's and women's divisions. In 1998, the Olympic Committee officially made curling a medal event and also declared the 1924 competition to officially be the first non-demonstration Olympic curling competition.
Member Comments